Numerous rear bindings of this type are currently known. They generally comprise a slide-rail mounted on the ski, a body which can slide along the slide-rail, and a boot position-retention jaw carried by the body. The bindings also comprise a support plate on which the rear end of the sole of the boot rests.
A brake is normally connected to the rear binding to stop the travel of the ski after the boot has been released. This brake generally comprises mobile brake arms or spade-like elements and a control pedal.
For some conventional bindings, the support plate for the boot is constituted by the brake control pedal.
In currently-known devices and in the presence of the boot, the support plate rests directly against the upper surface of the ski, so that the sole of the boot is supported directly on the ski, i.e., with no shock-absorption mechanism.
Accordingly, the shocks and vibrations to which the ski is subjected are transmitted to the boot and are felt by the skier.
To improve the skier's comfort, conventional practice includes, as described in particular in French Patent No. 2 602 979, a binding mounted on a ski by means of a plate made of a viscoelastic material, so that no rigid means, such as a screw, attaches the ski to the slide-rail.
As regards comfort, this binding gives good results. In fact, the layer of viscoelastic material absorbs the shocks and vibrations to which the ski is subjected.
On the other hand, this binding causes impairment of the accuracy with which the ski is steered. In fact, to steer the ski, the skier performs lateral maneuvers or driving movements with his boots, and these movements are transmitted to the edges of each of the skis. These maneuvers and driving movements are also filtered out by the layer of viscoelastic material.